Life Advocacy Briefing

Mounting a Challenge to Roe

THREE U.S. SENATORS HAVE CHIMED IN on the Supreme Court’s consideration of an abortion case reviewing Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, a case which many believe could end in reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade edict which, together with Doe v. Bolton, legalized abortion across America in 1973.

Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Mike Lee (R-UT) “filed an amicus brief [last] Monday,” reports Calvin Freiburger for LifeSiteNews.com.

“‘As the Court has repeatedly explained over the course of many decades, decisions that have proven unworkable – by producing confusion in the lower courts, failing to result in judicially manageable standards and proving doctrinally unstable – are prime candidates for reversal,’ the Senators explained” in their amicus brief, reports Mr. Freiburger. “‘This is particularly true where, as here, the underlying decision is egregiously wrong … .’”

Another Radical Appointee

THE BIDEN/HARRIS REGIME HAS APPOINTED the former director of the virulently pro-abortion Population Council to the post of Senior Advisor on Human Rights & Gender Equity in the Office of Global Affairs, US Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS).

Dr. Stephanie Psaki also previously served, reports Live Action’s Carole Novielli, as deputy director of the Population Council’s Girl Innovation Research & Learning Center. She is also the sister of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

“The Population Council is a eugenics-founded organization,” notes Ms. Novielli, “credited with bringing the abortion pill (RU-486) to the United States and setting up the pill’s manufacturer, Danco Laboratories LLC.”

Ms. Psaki’s employment at the Population Council began in 2013, reports Live Action, and by 2015 she was “editor of the Population Council’s publication ‘Studies in Family Planning.’ This is the same publication which previously published a piece by the Council’s fourth president, Bernard Berelson,” writes Ms. Novielli, “suggesting that if voluntary methods of birth control were unsuccessful, it may become necessary for the government to put a ‘fertility control agent’ in the water supplies of ‘urban’ neighborhoods. …

“The newly appointed HHS advisor often tweets in approval of unrestricted abortion and support of Planned Parenthood,” warns Live Action. “She previously claimed that women cannot be empowered without ‘access to comprehensive sex education, family planning, safe access to abortion.’”

A 2019 report to which Ms. Psaki contributed, reports Ms. Novielli, “suggested the removal of all barriers to abortion for adolescents, including laws requiring parental consent … .”

One Cent Is Too Much!

IN THE FIGHT TO BRING BACK THE HYDE AMENDMENT, which was left out of the House committee-approved appropriations bill for the nation’s social welfare apparatus, Family Research Council has drawn up an Internet-available report called “America’s Direct Deposit to Planned Parenthood” (frc.org/plannedparenthoodfunding). We commend it to the attention of our readers.

The document charts annual Planned Parenthood funding – domestically and internationally – since 1994, as documented by the Government Accountability Office. The chart shows federal payments to the abortion behemoth starting in 1994 at $163.1 million and climbing in 2019 to $618.1 million. That’s with the Hyde Amendment in place. The report also presents a GAO chart tracking annual abortions admitted to by Planned Parenthood, from 133,289 in 1994 to 354,871 in 2019.

Whacking Another Mole

LEGISLATION HAS BEEN FILED in both houses of Congress seeking to bar federal funding of any college or university which, explains IllinoisReview.com, “hosts or is affiliated with a student-based service site that provides abortion drugs or abortion to students of the institution or to employees of the institution or site.”

HR-4607 is sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) along with 59 co-sponsors. A companion bill is expected to be filed in the Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), founder and chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus.

Among the House co-sponsors is first-term lawmaker Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), who commented in the Illinois Review story: “‘Chemical abortions are the future the abortion issue is lobbying for, and I know that as a mother of five daughters, my girls and their peers are the most vulnerable to the chemical abortion industry. The abortion industry does not advocate for women, as they constantly claim to do,’” declared Rep. Miller. “‘They exploit young women but leave them to deal with the consequences and severe potential side effects all on their own.’”

She added, “‘American taxpayers should not be forced by Democrats to fund the abortion providers in this country directly or indirectly. The Protect Life on College Campus Act stands up for the many Americans who share a deeply held moral opposition to ending life in the womb.’”

Stateside

• TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R) IN LATE JULY SIGNED a “trigger law” to ban abortions in his state in the event the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. Such laws are being enacted now to sit on the books, unenforceable for now but set to take effect immediately upon the long-sought reversal of the 1973 high court edicts which effectively blocked states from enforcing their laws against abortion. “According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute,” notes National Right to Life News editor Dave Andrusko, “Texas joins about 10 other states with similar trigger laws.” In states whose legislatures have been captured by abortion lobby, lawmakers have been repealing decades-dormant laws from fear the Supreme Court may be preparing to admit that Roe and Doe were wrongly decided nearly 50 tragic years ago.

• THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF 20 STATES have filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief in support of South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat & Protection from Abortion Act, enjoined in its entirety by US District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, an Obama appointee, though the law has a clear severability clause which states the intent of the legislature that if one section is enjoined, the rest of the law should stand. Such severability clauses are usually respected, notes the amicus brief. South Carolina’s Heartbeat law, signed in February, contained a provision requiring abortionists to offer aborting mothers a view of the ultrasound of their developing babies. Alabama Atty. Gen. Steve Marshall (R) marshalled support from 20 states’ attorneys general in filing the brief focused on the ultrasound provision, which Planned Parenthood and its fellow plaintiffs had not even cited in their challenge to the law. Marshall, notes Live Action’s Amanda Vicinanzo, “was quick to note that at least 24 states require an abortion provider to offer to display the image from an ultrasound to the pregnant mother, at least 16 states require abortion providers to make fetal heartbeat audible if the mother would like to hear it, and at least 12 other states require an ultrasound to be performed before an abortion can be conducted.” South Carolina is appealing the injunction to the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

• LOUISIANA GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D) early last month signed the Abortion Pill Reversal Disclosure Act, reports National Right to Life News, “giving every woman the right to change her mind after her chemical abortion and possibly save her baby. … The bill easily passed both chambers [of the legislature] before going to the governor’s desk.” It requires abortion-pill pushers (a.k.a. “doctors”) to furnish the customer “a disclosure statement,” notes NRL News, “letting her know that if, after taking the first pill, she regrets the abortion, she should consult a physician or healthcare provider immediately to determine if there are options available to help sustain her pregnancy. The statement,” NRL News reports, “can be stapled to the bag, envelope or other package that contains misoprostol (the second abortion pill) for the pregnant woman to take at home or attached to the patient’s discharge instructions if the prescription is sent directly to a pharmacy.” Reversal efforts are not always effective, but furnishing abortion-regretters information in advance can offer hope of a rescue for many targeted preborns.

In the Courts

• THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS – you read that right! – ruled in mid-July that a church in Washington State had, reports Alliance Defending Freedom, “properly challenged the state’s abortion coverage mandate and that a lower court was wrong to dismiss the church’s free-exercise claim.” In their lawsuit, according to Live Action’s Laura Nicole, Cedar Park Church “is standing up to a 2018 law requiring churches and other religious institutions to include abortion coverage in employee healthcare plans that offer maternity benefits.” The law, notes Ms. Nicole, provided exemptions “for healthcare providers but not for churches, mean[ing] that the churches were specifically targeted.”

• THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS – based in St. Louis – “has vacated last month’s three-judge panel ruling,” reports Live Action’s Nancy Flanders, “that struck down portions of the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, which banned abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome or the baby’s sex or race. It also,” reports Ms. Flanders, “restricted abortion to below eight weeks and included the restriction of abortion at incremental stages – 14 weeks, 18 weeks or 20 weeks – if the earlier restrictions were overturned in court.” Though a three-judge panel in June “ruled that the law would be determined to be unconstitutional,” notes Ms. Flanders, “Atty. Gen. Eric Schmitt filed an appeal to the US Supreme Court in July, but then the 8^th Circuit Court decided to rehear the case; his petition to [the Supreme Court] is now moot.” However the 8^th Circuit eventually rules, the issues in the case are being adjudicated in other circuits as well and could well end up in the Supreme Court.

• THE IOWA SUPREME COURT in late June upheld a 2019 state law barring “‘abortion providers from participating in two federally funded educational grant programs directed at reducing teenage pregnancy and promoting abstinence,’” reports National Right to Life News editor Dave Andrusko. The judges voted 6 to 1 to uphold the law. The six prevailing justices wrote in their 54-page decision, reports Mr. Andrusko, “‘Even if the programs do not include any discussions about abortion, the goals of promoting abstinence and reducing teenage pregnancy could arguably still be undermined when taught by the entity that performs nearly all abortions in Iowa. The state could also be concerned that using abortion providers to deliver sex education programs to teenage students would create relationships between the abortion provider and the students the state does not wish to foster in light of its policy preference for childbirth over abortion.’” Amen!

Turning Point?

July 12, 2021, commentary by Campaign for Working Families president Gary Bauer

             Over the years, many elected officials, including some in the GOP establishment, have argued that while they don’t like abortion, it’s not the biggest problem facing the country today. Well, I suggest it certainly symbolizes the biggest problem America faces today.

             Are we still one nation under God? I hope so, because that’s how we obtain God’s blessings. But if we still desire God’s blessings, we cannot continue to treat innocent unborn children like Styrofoam cups to be disposed of at whim.

             Sadly, the United States has some of the worst pro-abortion laws in the world. The Supreme Court has made abortion the equivalent of a cherished right, a right that often supersedes other rights. The right to protest might be limited if it is near an abortion clinic. If your pastor preaches that life is sacred, your church may be attacked. The Left wants to force Christian doctors to perform abortions. It even tried to force nuns to pay for contraception. So abortion even puts religious freedom at risk.

             Some “evangelical progressives” who endorsed Joe Biden, people like Rich Cizik, John Huffman and Jerusha Duford also endorsed a party and a candidate committed to abortion on demand.

             As I noted Friday, polling shows that 80% of Americans oppose abortion in the third trimester. But it is inconceivable that someone against abortion at seven or eight months could get the Democratic Party nomination for President today.

             Let’s be clear about it: The Republican Party under Presidents like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump did everything possible to preserve innocent human life. One party will make you pay for abortions, the other will not. One party believes abortion is a positive good, the other wants to end abortion on demand.

             Every day we should thank God that we live in America, where religious liberty is enshrined in our Constitution. But we can’t relax. There are warning signs that Christians will be facing persecution here in the United States. There have been attacks against churches and Christian leaders who resist the radical gay rights movement and the powerful abortion lobby.

             The latest outrage involves a disgusting attack on a statue in Arkansas known as The Christ of the Ozarks. There are many ways left-wing radicals can defame Christianity. They can claim there is no God. They can insist that Jesus is a myth. But in this case, these left-wing radicals hung a huge banner on this 65-foot tall statue of Jesus that read, “God Bless Abortions.” It’s hard to imagine a more overt sign of hatred than that. God and His Son Jesus are the Creators of life, and … They are the promise of eternal life.

             As our country moves further Left, we will see more of these outrageous attacks on faith. History shows that attacks on churches always lead to physical assaults on Christians.

             You might not be interested in government and politics, but government and politics are interested in you. It’s time to become an active Christian citizen and to fight back against the Left’s attacks on our faith.

House Voting Record

HR-239 – Taxpayer Funding of Contraception for Veterans – Passed – 245-181 – June 24, 2021 (Democrats in italics)

Voting “No”/pro-Life: Aderholt, Brooks, Carl, Moore, Palmer, Rogers/AL; Young/AK; Biggs, Gosar, Lesko, Schweikert/AZ; Crawford, Hill, Westerman, Womack/AR; Calvert, Garcia, Issa, LaMalfa, McClintock, Nunes, Valadao/CA; Boebert, Buck, Lamborn/CO; Bilirakis, Buchanan, Cammack, Diaz-Balart, Donalds, Dunn, Franklin, Gaetz, Mast, Posey, Rutherford, Steube, Waltz, Webster/FL; Allen, Carter, Clyde, Ferguson, Greene, Hice, Loudermilk, A.Scott/GA; Simpson/ID; LaHood, Miller/IL; Baird, Banks, Bucshon, Pence, Spartz, Walorski/IN; Feenstra, Hinson/IA; Estes, LaTurner, Mann/KS; Barr, Comer, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers/KY; Graves, Higgins, Letlow, Scalise/LA; Harris/MD; Bergman, Huizenga, McClain, Meijer, Moolenaar, Walberg/MI; Emmer, Fischbach, Hagedorn, Stauber/MN; Guest, Kelly, Palazzo/MS; Graves, Hartzler, Long, Luetkemeyer, Smith, Wagner/MO; Rosendale/MT; Bacon, Fortenberry, Smith/NE; Amodei/NV; Herrell/NM; Smith/NJ; Garbarino, Jacobs, Stefanik, Tenney, Zeldin/NY; Bishop, Budd, Cawthorn, Foxx, Hudson, McHenry, Murphy, Rouzer/NC; Armstrong/ND; Balderson, Chabot, Davidson, Gibbs, Johnson, Jordan, Latta, Turner, Wenstrup/OH; Bice, Cole, Hern, Lucas, Mullin/OK; Bentz/OR; Joyce, Keller, Kelly, Perry, Reschenthaler, Thompson/PA; Duncan, Norman, Rice, Timmons, Wilson/SC; Johnson/SD; Burchett, DesJarlais, Fleischmann, Green, Harshbarger, Kustoff, Rose/TN; Arrington, Babin, Brady, Carter, Cloud, Fallon, Gohmert, Gooden, Granger, Jackson, McCaul, Nehls, Pfluger, Roy, Sessions, Taylor, Weber, Williams/TX: Curtis, Moore, Owens, Stewart/UT; Cline, Good, Griffith, Wittman/VA; Herrera-Beutler, Rodgers/WA; McKinley, Miller, Mooney/WV; Fitzgerald, Gallagher, Grothman, Steil, Tiffany/WI; Cheney/WY.

Voting “Yes”/anti-Life: Sewell/AL; Gallego, Grijalva, Kirkpatrick, O’Halleran, Stanton/AZ; Aguilar, Barragan, Bass, Bera, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, Correa, Costa, DeSaulnier, Eshoo, Garamendi, Gomez, Harder, Huffman, Jacobs, Khanna, Kim, Lee, Levin, Lieu, Lofgren, Lowenthal, Matsui, McCarthy*, McNerney, Napolitano, Obernolte, Panetta, Peters, Porter, Roybal-Allard, Ruiz, Sanchez, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Steel, Swalwell, Takano, Thompson, Torres, Vargas, Waters/CA; Crow, DeGette, Neguse, Perlmutter/CO; Courtney, DeLauro, Hayes, Himes, Larson/CT; Blunt-Rochester/DE; Castor, Crist, Demings, Deutch, Frankel, Gimenez, Lawson, Murphy, Salazar, Soto, Wasserman-Schultz, Wilson/FL; Bishop, Bourdeaux, Johnson, McBath, D.Scott, Williams/GA; Case, Kahele/HI; Bost, Bustos, Casten, D.Davis, R.Davis, Foster, Garcia, Kelly, Kinzinger, Krishnamoorthi, Newman, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky, Schneider, Underwood/IL; Carson, Hollingsworth, Mrvan/IN; Axne, Miller-Meeks/IA; Davids/KS; Yarmuth/KY; Carter/LA; Golden, Pingree/ME; Brown, Hoyer, Mfume, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, Trone/MD; Auchincloss, Clark, Keating, Lynch, McGovern, Moulton, Neal, Pressley, Trahan/MA; Dingell, Kildee, Lawrence, Levin, Slotkin, Stevens, Tlaib, Upton/MI; Craig, McCollum, Omar, Phillips/MN; Thompson/MS; Bush, Cleaver/MO; Horsford, Lee, Titus/NV; Kuster, Pappas/NH; Gottheimer, Kim, Malinowski, Norcross, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne, Sherrill, Sires, VanDrew, Watson-Coleman/NJ; Leger-Fernandez, Stansbury/NM; Bowman, Clarke, Delgado, Espaillat, Higgins, Jeffries, Jones, Katko, Malliotakis, C.Maloney, S.Maloney, Meeks, Meng, Morelle, Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez, Reed, Rice, Suozzi, Tonko, Torres, Velazquez/NY; Adams, Butterfield, Manning, Price, Ross/NC; Beatty, Gonzalez, Joyce, Kaptur, Ryan/OH; Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Schrader/OR; Boyle, Cartwright, Dean, Doyle, Evans, Fitzpatrick, Houlahan, Lamb, Meuser, Scanlon, Wild/PA: Cicilline, Langevin/RI; Clyburn, Mace/SC; Cohen, Cooper/TN; Allred, Burgess, Castro, Crenshaw, Cuellar, Doggett, Escobar, Fletcher, Garcia, Gonzales, Gonzalez, Green, Jackson-Lee, Johnson, Veasey, Vela/TX; Welch/VT; Beyer, Connolly, Luria, McEachin, Scott, Spanberger, Wexton/VA; DelBene, Jayapal, Kilmer, Larsen, Newhouse, Schrier, Smith, Strickland/WA; Kind, Moore, Pocan/WI.

Not voting: Fulcher/ID, Johnson/LA, Smucker/PA, VanDuyne/TX.

*Mr. McCarthy is the House Minority Leader.